Staff Housing Overview

In November of 2015, Roaring Fork Schools passed a voter-approved $122 million bond for capital construction, improvements, and upgrades. A total of $15 million ($5 million per community) was allocated and used to build 66 rental housing units. The staff housing program is a key strategic initiative to recruit and retain high quality staff. In 2024, RFSD leveraged rental revenue and reserve funds to build another 50 units on Meadowood Drive in Carbondale, bringing our total to 117 rentals. These rental units allow employees to remain with the district without market housing conditions forcing them away. Hopefully, they will also provide a bridge to permanent housing as the affordable nature will allow staff to save money for future home purchases. RFSD also partnered with Habitat for Humanity, Pitkin County, and Holy Cross Energy to build 14 homes near Basalt High School that are owned by staff. RFSD has invested over $45 million in staff housing as of 2024, without asking taxpayers for additional funds. We continue to explore every opportunity to expand our housing inventory to meet the needs of our staff.

While we cannot guarantee that any specific employee will secure housing, RFSD has the largest staff housing program in the lower Roaring Fork Valley. Working for RFSD long-term is one of the best ways to gain access to more housing opportunities in this region. We also manage a list of free-market opportunities that landlords post for RFSD staff only. All of these options can be viewed below; the free market list is only visible to RFSD staff, but please click on it and request access and it will be granted if you are a new hire.

The process for filling our 117 rental units starts every April, when we determine which units will be available due to non-renewals. All leases start on July 1 and end on June 30 of the following year. Interested staff apply in April and are randomly selected for available units using our points-based lottery system. In our most recent application period, we saw the highest demand for one-bedroom and studio units, and the lowest demand for three-bedroom units. We generally have approximately 10% of units turnover each summer.

We are also completing a 10-year staff housing master plan that will clarify what we need to do next to meet our staff housing needs. Joining our team and participating in these processes makes it more likely that an individual will find the housing they need in the future, if not immediately.

Current Staff Housing Opportunities

RFSD Staff Housing Lotteries: Whenever a unit of staff housing is available, the application is provided via staff newsletters. When there is more than one qualified applicant for an available unit of housing, all qualified applicants will be entered into a lottery. Each applicant’s number of lottery entries will be based on the number of points earned according to the criteria in our guidelines. Applicants will be randomly selected and offered the unit based on the order in which they were selected. If you have any questions about staff housing, please contact Megan Kappeli with Preferred Property Management at 720-340-6161 or via email at megan@zgrent.com.

RFSD Staff Homeownership Opportunity: RFSD staff have priority access to purchase 10 studio or one-bedroom units in the L3 building in that Habitat for Humanity recently acquired near the Glenwood Springs Community Center. This is a great opportunity to start building equity, stabilize your monthly housing costs, and own your first home. Learn more here, and request a meeting with Giovanna O. Kennedy to learn about your options.

Free-Market Housing in each community: See this list of free-market units offered to RFSD staff from community members (only visible to RFSD staff; requests to share list with non-rfschools emails will be ignored. RFSD staff may not share these listings with non-RFSD staff). These units are not managed or subsidized by RFSD. We are simply trying to help RFSD staff find more housing opportunities. If you would like to add your rental or for-sale unit to this list, please complete this form.

'Good Deeds' Buy-Down Program: West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition is excited to announce the launch of its first program, Good Deeds. This development-neutral approach “buys down” market rate home to a more affordable or attainable price for a local income earner in exchange for permanent deed restriction being added to the property. The WMRHC will contribute 30% of the contracted purchase price to the purchase of a price-capped deed restriction on that property.  The payment will be applied at closing to reduce the principal on the first mortgage loan.

City and County Affordable Housing: Staff may qualify for these municipal or county affordable housing programs, based on their place of work in Basalt, Pitkin County, or Garfield County.